The Tale of the Iron Boots
by Tree Flower
Summary: ...did you know that over 600 years ago, there were also Gerudo men?


"Now, young king, ready to hear a story?"

_He nodded and adjusted his body so he was comfortable. Her stories were always long and entertaining._

_"This is a legend I know you have never heard of before, for this story is one no one speaks of. Barely anyone knows this tale any more, but I shall pass it down to you so you can pass it down to the next generation. Most know not of the reason why there are only women in the gerudo."_

_"That's because there is only one man born every 100 years and they become the king!"_

_"But did you know that over 600 years ago, there were also gerudo men?"_

_"What, really!?"_

_"I will tell you why. I will tell you the tale of the iron boots."_

--

I wiped the sweat from my forehead as I once again lifted my hammer to strike the metal again. I felt that this was to be an important sword, a sword that will be wielded for an important reason.

'Besides,' I thought dryly. 'This sword _is_ special.'

I put the finishing touches on the sword and smiled as I wiped the sweat off my forehead again. It was hard metal to work with, and with the other things added like the jewel piece that would be used to channel magic through the sword, it was a very powerful, yet beautiful sword.

I heard a small chime, signaling that someone entered the building.

"Welcome!" I said, pulling the curtain that led to the backroom and giving a small greeting to whoever it was. It took a couple of minute to realize who it was. "Oh! Welcome, my king," I said formally and bowed, almost mockingly.

"You know you don't have to call me that," he replied, giving a small smile.

"I know, but what can I say," I said, shrugging.

"But what kind of person calls their friend a king?"

"A person who is friends _with_ a king."

"I guess your right, Link."

"I'm always right Gannon," I said, wiping my forehead.

"I told you to call me by my full name and not just the first part," Ganondorf said, walking around and looking at some of the things on display in my shop. "And you seem very sweaty today."

"Well that's one of the things about having a shop in the middle of the desert: hot, hot, hot."

We went to the back room where ironically, it was cooler than the front.

"Using your magic again?"

"My swords do need to cool properly, and it gets really hot during this time of day," I said, putting my lucky hammer away.

"Lucky hammer?" he asked, watching me put it away.

"Yea, I was making something that I couldn't mess up." I said, turning around to look at him. "The goods were too expensive."

"Everything seems to be expensive, with everyone worrying about a war starting,"

"Ah, yes that war. The revolts seem to be getting worse huh?"

"Yes, the other countries are worried about getting caught that they even closed some trade routes down."

"Yikes. I'm glad I don't live out there in Hyrule, away from the desert. Even if it's cooler over there, I wouldn't want to get caught in the revolts."

I examined Ganondorf, something I haven't done in a while. He was a tall, dark man with orange-red hair, typical of any gerudo man. He wore gerudo desert clothes, although a bit more fancy and expensive looking than most. He wore his old dark red cape, the one he always wore when he wasn't doing any important business or in the desert. He also had some head ornaments and a jewel, a sign he was the king of gerudos.

I was once almost the king of Gerudo by some freak chance. I never wanted to, but I had to train for the day if I ever became king. I met Ganondorf, and realized he would, no, should be the king. The priests and main priestess had also gotten a message about him too. I would've never become king anyway. I was only half Gerudo. My mom was related to the priestess and one of the greatest warriors the Gerudo nation has ever seen, and my father was a soldier swordsman from Hyrule. Supposedly he was one of the greatest swordsmen in the army, at least until he was killed. And shamefully too. I heard from some of the woman gossiping that he died from a regular cold, while others said he really died valiantly. I also heard silly things like he was posing as the king of Hyrule, or even eloped with a different woman.

The truth was however, one I heard from the priestess and confirmed by my mom, he died climbing the vines to the Princess of Hyrule's window, and fell off. He was drunk, and they didn't find him until late in the afternoon when the princess looked out the window to see the garden and screamed.

I did hear he was a good man though.

"There is a reason I went here, and not to talk about the war, although it does have something to do with it." Ganondorf said, bringing me out of my daze.

"Really now? That doesn't happen often," I said, wondering what he was going to say.

"I and the King of Hyrule met a couple days ago,"

"Did he find out about you and the younger princess, what's her name, Zelda?" I interrupted, and he gave me a glare.

"Anyway, we made a deal. He knows war is coming, it is inevitable, and he did find out about me and Zelda," he gave me a knowing look, and I grinned. "To unite our nations in the upcoming war, and to put one less worry away, me and Zelda are to wed."

I noticed he looked very happy about this. "Well that's great! Now you and Zelda don't have to hide it, and you get married."

"Yes, it is great, and we are even having a small ceremony in a couple of days to announce this to the rest of the Gerudos,"

"Is Zelda coming too?"

"Yes."

"What about the king?"

"He has a nation to try and keep together, and with these revolts, it's sort of a bad idea to leave the castle if you come back the next day and realize you're not the king anymore and the whole nation is in a war."

"Oh, right."

"So I trust you'll keep the news to yourself until the party?"

"You know me, and besides, everyone WILL know before you even announce it."

"That's how the Gerudo rumor mill works," he said.

I assumed he was going to leave when he noticed the sword still on the anvil.

"This sword you were working on?" he asked.

"Yea, just finished before you got here," I said, giving a small smile to my handiwork.

"That is a nice sword," he said.

I picked it up, and even I was surprised by how light it was, even though the material at the beginning was heavy. I gave a couple test swings before handing it to Ganondorf.

"Here, you try it." I said, and he grabbed it.

He swung it around. "What is this made out of?"

"Rare metal from deep in the Dodongos Cavern."

The jewel I put in glowed purple before it went back to its neutral state.

"What was that?" he asked, examining the jewel.

"I have no clue, jewels like that usually don't glow a purple," I said, thinking about it. "Maybe I should research it."

"Well, anyway, you should bring that when you come in a few days." He said, carefully setting the sword down.

"I guess I'm expected to go, huh?"

"As the noble prince of the Gerudo, right hand man to the King, and everyone's favorite swordsman, what do you think?"

"Hey, at least I don't go flashing around my Kingly status to the women."

"Well, actually..."

"Don't finish! Well, see you in a few days"

We said our goodbyes, and I waved as he walked and slowly turned into a small dot. I looked around at the clear, blue and brown desert before going back inside. Why I looked for a sandstorm, I don't know. There hasn't been a sandstorm for at least 40 years.


End file.
